Vacuum cleaner attachment



Oct. 9, 1962 E. w. LEWIS 3,056,993

VACUUM CLEANER ATTACHMENT Filed July 24, 1961 INVENTOR. E M 02 Y M .4 W/S ArrozA/B's.

r r 3,656,993 1C6 Patented Oct. 9, 1962.

3,056,993 VACUUM CLEANER ATTACHMENT Emory W. Lewis, RED. 1, Milan, Ohio Filed July 24, 1961, Ser. No. 126,266 Claims. (Cl. 15310) The present invention is directed to a vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning dry dust mops such as those used to clean schoolrooms, gymnasiums and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning dust, lint and other foreign material from dry dust mops.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a strong, convenient and inexpensive vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning dry dust mops.

These and other objects will be apparent from the specification that follows, the appended claims and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved vacuum cleaner attachment embodying the present invention:

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view, partly'in section, of the attachment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line indicated at 3-3 in FIG. 2;

"FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 indicated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 indicated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified attachment showing a different embodiment of the cleaning means for removing dust and lint from dry dust mops.

The present invention provides a novel vacuum cleaner attachment for dry dust mops that is strong, convenient and inexpensive. Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 through 5, a vacuum cleaner 1 is shown which has an integral one-piece construction and which comprises a body member having a front wall 5 which has a top 6 and a base 7, the front wall being generally parallel to a back wall 8 of like construction having a top 10 and a base 11. For easy cleaning and handling of even the large, wide dust mops, a pair of slanted sides and 16 are provided, the sides being rigidly and integrally connected at the outer corners of the base 7 of front wall and of the base 11 of the back wall and inclined towards each other preferably at an angle of about 10 to 25 with a plane through the bases 7 and 11. The slanted sides 15 and 16 have top edges 18 and 19, respectively, which define an elongated slot 20 between the tops 6 and 10 of the front and back walls.

A relatively narrow elongated vacuum chamber is provided beneath the slot 20 for carrying of dust, lint and other debris out of the attachment into a vacuum cleaner such as an industrial vacuum cleaner or vacuum line not shown. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for quick and easy removal of dirt and lint, the vacuum chamber has a forward end 28 which is deeper than the rearward end 29, and the bottom 30 of the chamber tapers rearwardly at an angle of preferably about 5 to 15 with respect to the plane through the bases 7 and 11 of the front and back walls. In the tapered vacuum chamber, the heavier dust and lint particles tend to roll towards the outlet to make sure that the vacuum chamber itself will be clean and require little attention after a large number of dust mops have been cleaned.

In accordance with the present invention, and in combination with the above described slanted sides and tapered vacuum chamber, a strong and inexpensive, yet thorough cleaning means for the dry dust mops is provided. As seen in the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a comb member is integrally and rigidly connected to the bottom 30 of the vacuum chamher and has a plurality of upstanding teeth 36, the top of each of which project above the slot 20 for quick and efficient cleaning of the mop or brush. The member 35 is preferably disposed along the middle of the vacuum chamber bottom 30 and partitions the vacuum chamber in half to provide an equal amount of suction on each side of a mop.

In combination with the sloping bottom 30 of the vacuum chamber to keep the chamber free of even heavier dirt particles and bits of paper, the comb member 35 is spaced from the front wall by at least the distance equal to the width of a tooth 36 to provide a notch or space 37. Not only can the entrance from the vacuum chamber to the outlet be kept free of lint and the like, but when the mop is pressed over the saw tooth cleaning member 35, the yarn cords can tightly close off the vacuum chamber from the top to provide better suction.

An outlet conduit 38, integrally and rigidly connected to the front wall 5 and communicating with the vacuum chamber 25, is provided for the removal of lint, dirt, and the like from the vacuum chamber. The outlet 38 may be connected to an industrial vacuum cleaner, a permanent vacuum line or other means of pulling a suction in the chamber in a suitable manner such as by a coupling member 39 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, attachment 41 having a slot 42, slanted sides 43 and 44, and a vacuum chamber similar to chamber 25 of attachment 1 is shown. The attachment 41 has a construction similar to that of attachment 1 except for the cleaning means disposed along the slot 42 above the vacuum chamber. In the modified attachment 41, the cleaning means comprises a pair of parallel bars 45 that are rigidly connected between the front and rear side Walls and are disposed along the length of the slot 42 to divide the slot into about three equal portions. The bars 45 project above the slot 42 to provide a cleaning action that is satisfactory though not as eflicient as the comb 35.

Along with the advantages obtained by the previously discussed tapered vacuum chamber 25, the comb 35 and the spacing of the forward edge of the comb from the front wall 5, a footplate 46 is provided that is rigidly connected to the base 11 of the back Wall 8. The footplate is located conveniently at floor level and allows a person to anchor the attachment for easy use by merely sliding a dirty mop from the floor level up one of the slanted sides to the cleaning member above the vacuum chamber.

Thus, the above described combination of the tapered vacuum chamber 30 and its associated cleaning member 35, the slanted sides 15 and 16, and the footplate 46 provide a strong, integral one-piece vacuum attachment that cleans dust mops quickly and efiiciently and yet, requires no maintenance itself.

What is claimed is:

l. A vacuum cleaner attachment adapted for cleaning dry dust mops comprising a body member having a front wall with a top and base, a back wall with a top and base, and a pair of slanted sides rigidly connected between the front and back walls and inclining toward each other to define an elongated slot between the top of the front and back walls, a vacuum chamber beneath said slot for carrying away dust and lint and rigidly connected between the front and back Walls and the slanted sides, an outlet conduit rigidly connected to said front Wall communicating with the vacuum chamber, a foot plate rigidly connected to said base of the back wall and extending rearwardly in the same plane as the bases of the front and back walls, and means for cleaning dust mops comprising a cleaning member disposed longitudinally along the length of the slot and at least a portion thereof extending through the slot and above the tops of the slanted sides to effectively remove lint and dust from dust mops.

2. A vacuum cleaner attachment adapted for cleaning dry dust mops having an integral one-piece construction and comprising a front wall and a back wall parallel thereto, a pair of slanted sides rigidly connected between the front and back walls and inclining towards each other to form a relatively narrow elongated slot at the top thereof, an elongated vacuum chamber disposed beneath said slot rigidly connected to the tops of the slanted sides and to the front and back walls, an outlet conduit generally parallel to the slot connected to the front wall and communicating with the vacuum chamber, a footplate connected to the back wall at the base thereof and substantially parallel to the plane of the tops of the slanted sides, and means for cleaning dust mops disposed along the length of the vacuum chamber and extending above the plane of the tops of the slanted sides for quick and efiicient cleaning.

3. An integral one-piece article as defined in claim 2 in which the cleaning means comprises a comb member having a series of upstanding teeth that project above the plane of the tops of the slanted sides and in which the comb member is spaced away from the front wall to prevent lint and dust from collecting thereon.

4. An article as defined in claim 2 in which the cleaning means comprises a pair of generally parallel spaced bars that are rigidly connected between the front and back walls and disposed along the length of the vacuum chamber slot.

5. A vacuum cleaner attachment adapted for cleaning dry dust mops, the attachment having a one-piece construction and comprising an elongated hollow body member having parallel generally' trapezoidal front and back walls, a pair of generally rectangular slanted sides inclining towards each other to define at their top edges a slot between said front and back walls, said sides being at an angle of about 10 to 25 with a plane through the bases of the front and back walls for easy and eflicient handling of dust mops, an elongated vacuum chamber disposed beneath said slot, said chamber being deeper at its forward end than its back end tapering rearwardly from the front end at an angle of about 5 to 15 from a plane parallel to the plane through the bases of the front and back walls, an outlet conduit connected to said front wall communicating with the vacuum chamber, a footplate rigidly connected to the base of the back wall and cleaning means for dust mops comprising a comb member rigidly connected to the bottom of the vacuum chamber and disposed in the middle and along the length thereof, said comb member having a plurality of upstanding teeth that project above the slot and the comb member being spaced from the front-wall whereby the outlet will not become clogged with lint and dust.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 492,455 Barnhart Feb. 28, 1893 1,315,310 Kelley Sept. 9, 1919 1,898,887 Naul Feb. 21, 1933 2,681,466 Nelson June 22, 1954 

